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How can unified communications help Australia's financial services industry?

Here's how unified communications is changing the financial services industry.

Fintech has forced the Australian financial services industry to adopt new technology in order to keep pace. Blockchain may be the darling of fintech, but there are some much simpler technologies banks can use to help them massively improve their operations.

Unified communications (UC) is one such technology. Streamlining all a business' communications, from video and chat to phone calls and email, unified communications has the ability to increase a bank's customer satisfaction, revenue, productivity, and cybersecurity.

1) Customer satisfaction

With interest rates at a record low (the Reserve Bank of Australia kept them at 1.5 per cent in March for a 19th consecutive month), banks must rely on their customer service to win over new clients.

However, customer satisfaction has historically been difficult to achieve, not just in banking but in businesses across Australia. In fact, research firm Accenture claims poor customer experience costs companies in Australia $122 billion a year.

Customer satisfaction is key for Australian banks, but many businesses in this country have struggled to achieve it.

For financial services institutions, where customer interactions are frequent and complex, achieving good customer service is key.

Unified communications allows for fast, easy client contact. Users can access a customer's information quickly and pass him or her onto the relevant person if they themselves can't answer a particular question. It also records all calls, a great feature for identifying and rolling out new customer service training areas.

2) Revenue generation

UC also allows for more revenue generation opportunities. Customer service representatives can access all of a client's information at once, and identify any products that might be useful to the customer that they aren't already using.

3) Improved productivity

The internet is used by UC for all communications, so anyone with an internet connection can access their workspace, as well as interact with customers and colleagues. This makes opportunities for flexible work much easier. It also means employees can collaborate and come to decisions easily and quickly, no matter where in Australia or the world they are located.

4) Security

Cybersecurity should be an integral part of all companies' operations, but banks hold some of the most sensitive information it's possible for a business to have, making cybersecurity especially important. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority recently announced proposals for new cybersecurity obligations on APRA-regulated organisations such as banks, making security an even more sought-after feature.

Many UC providers have a host of cybersecurity features included. Fonality, for example, includes many cybersecurity elements to ensure their customers' communications are as safe as possible.

For more information on how Fonality's UC solutions can help institutions in the Australian financial services industry thrive, contact us today.